On September 14 by bringing representatives from our key stakeholder groups together, we started a conversation on the island of Ireland about scoping out what becoming truly sustainable might look like. We called the event our Ecological Transformation Stakeholder Forum.
It is becoming increasingly clear that addressing the challenges of climate change and creating sustainable business models requires a transformation in how we think and act. As leading practitioners in this space, Veolia recognises this and, indeed, our purpose as a company is to be the global champion of Ecological Transformation
The research that we have led and been involved in, globally and in the Republic of Ireland, shows the desire is there to transform and that radical collaboration is needed to achieve this.
Key decision makers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, technology, education and infrastructure came together and discussed the challenges and opportunities including what is needed to achieve the transformation we need. We talked about access to experts, innovative solutions, funding models, procurement and Scope 3 emissions. A key challenge for everyone is moving beyond standalone projects to deliver on very challenging commitments and targets.
Research shared by Gerard O’Neill of Amárach Research at the Forum tells us the people are looking for leadership and are willing to change but Professor John Sweeney of Maynooth University warned that all 5 scenarios developed by the IPCC foresee warming exceeding 1.5C over the next 20 years and the extreme weather events we have experienced globally are clearly linked to climate change.
Going forward, we will be working with this group to help co-develop innovative solutions to deliver Ecological Transformation and make our society more sustainable.
